A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin- class 12 unit two English
A respectable woman
Kate
Chopin
Kate
Chopin is famous American novelist and short-story writer. In the story she has
presented a female character "Baroda's" inner conflict as she finds
herself attracted to her husband's friend.
Mrs.
Baroda is not much happy to know that her husband's friend Gouvernail is coming
to spend a week or two on the plantation. She has heard about him many times
but never seen before. He was her husband's college friend and working as
journalist, he is the man of town than a village. She has made an image in her
mind about her husband's friend as tall, slim, cynical, with eyeglasses, and
his hands in his pockets; she doesn’t like him. When he arrives she finds
nothing matching with the reality and her imagination. He is not much tall, cynical
and not wearing eyeglasses. She rather likes him when he is presented himself.
There no reason to her why she has liked her. She doesn't find any promising
traits as her husband have. On the contrary he remains mute and receptive
before her chatty eagerness to make him at home and in face of Gaston's frank
and wordy hospitality. Her husband was like courteous towards her but his
friend doesn't make direct appeal to her approval or even esteem.
Once
they are planting when Gouvernail smokes his cigar lazily and listens
attentively to Gaston's experience as a sugar planter. He doesn’t care to fish
and displayed no eagerness to go out and kill groscvecs when Gaston proposed
doing so.
Gouvernail's
personality puzzles her. There are many dissimilarity between her husband and
his friend but she likes him. Indeed, he was a lovable, inoffensive fellow. In
this mood she leaves her husband and guest, for the most part, alone together.
Her action doesn't matter to Gouvernail. She doesn't find any emotion in his
heart. And asks when he is going to his home. She says that he is bothering
her. Her husband tries to assure that he will not trouble her. Mrs. Baroda
says, "No. I should like him better if he did, if he was more like others,
and I had to plan somewhat for his comfort and enjoyment." He husband
looks at her troubled eyes and helps in her dressing room. He tries to convince
her wife as not to take any commotion (sexual excitement) over him. Her
husband has told her that he was clever but she doesn't find any commotion on
him. Her husband gets agree with her wife as so lazy he is, he is run down by
overwork now. She is expecting him to be interesting, at least. So she doesn't
want to live there and tells that she is going to city to have her spring gown
and return when his guest returns back to his home.
That
a night she is sitting alone on a bench. She had never known her thoughts or
her intentions to be so confused. He has the feeling of a distinct necessity to
quit her home in the morning. In the darkness there appears a man with a cigarette
in his hand. He sat beside her and gave white scarf which her husband had told
him to bring for her. She doesn't have any interest to that cloth. The man
wishes to talk to her 3and starts about night that is fresh and cold but she
doesn't respond to him.
Gouvernail
was not a self conscious man to the feelings of woman but this night his mood
is different. He talks to her freely and intimately in a low, hesitating drawl
that is not unpleasant to hear. He is talking about his college days with
Gaston. She is vaguely getting what he was saying. She is not thinking in his
words drinking in the tone of his voice. She wants to reach out her hand in the
darkness and touch him with sensitive tips of her fingers upon the face or the
lips. She wants to draw close to him and whisper against his cheek. The
stronger impulsive grows to bring herself near him but she goes away from him
because she thinks herself as a respectable woman.
Mrs.
Baroda is greatly tempted that night to tell her husband but she keeps that
secret. She says that there are some battles in life which a human being must
fight alone.
No comments